The plan coordinator for Harrisburg's state-appointed Act 47 team was said to be meeting with Gov. Tom Corbett's staff today to discuss options for solving Harrisburg's $310 million debt.

According to sources, former House Speaker Robert O'Donnell was set to discuss with state officials a sales tax for Dauphin County as part of the debt solution for the incinerator debt. O'Donnell was expected to carry a pretty searing message:

Without a sales tax, which would take state legislation to enact, it's more likely that Harrisburg might have to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

"What I've been trying to say the entire time is that everyone has to be involved. Everyone. The state, city, county, the authority, everyone,'' O'Donnell said Tuesday afternoon as he entered the state Capitol building.

"I said there would be pain for everyone and I said everything is on the table. People say 'Oh, Bob, you can't mean a sales tax or bankruptcy,' but I mean everything, everything is on the table,'' O'Donnell said, declining to confirm or deny details of his meeting with state officials.

O'Donnell and the Act 47 team appointed by the state Department of Community and Economic Development must deliver their plan for Harrisburg by June 25. O'Donnell said the exact configuration of the plan remains to be seen.

But the inclusion of a county-wide sales tax underscores the message O'Donnell delivered to the Harrisburg City Council earlier this month, when he said the sale of city assets alone would not alleviate the massive debt guarantee. Act 47 team members cautioned that the sale of city assets would wipe out revenue streams necessary for the city's future operations.

The city owes $310 million, while Dauphin County is the second guarantor for $100 million. The Harrisburg Parking Authority garages have been the continuing subject of a purchase offer by New York financier Jacob Frydman, who also offered a five-page proposal to buy the incinerator, too. The Lancaster Solid Waste Management Authority has offered $124 million for the incinerator.

It is unclear what the Act 47 proposal will say about the sale of assets, however.

"Part of my job is to confront people with the facts and ask people to give me a contrary version. If there is one, then we can dig into those numbers. Everyone who has a stake, the state, too, needs to be presented with the options,'' O'Donnell said.

Denial by some stakeholders that they'll have to experience pain in resolving the incinerator debt could be more difficult after O'Donnell confronts state officials with the sobering options.

Last week, state Sen. Jeff Piccola disclosed that he was working on a bill that would force Harrisburg's fate into the hands of an appointed panel should the city fail to carry out the Act 47 plan. The idea was met with widespread criticism by city officials.

Maybe news about O'Donnell's tough talk with state officials about a countywide tax or Chapter 9 would sober all stakeholders to their eventual responsibilities.

"If that's true, that's a welcome development,'' O'Donnell said.

With the plan due within a month, the days for all stakeholders to resist concessions are growing fewer.

"When we confront this decision, there will be a plan. The hard part is having the will to carry it out,'' O'Donnell said.

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